Mat Coch writes:

With two Grands Prix under his belt, Daniel Ricciardo is beginning to settle in to his role at Hispania. A difficult debut at Silverstone was followed by a confidence building race at the Nurburgring, the Australian hoping for more of the same this weekend.

"I found Silverstone was a bit of a slow start, I wanted more from it," he admitted. "Then Nurburgring took off and that was better, I got more confidence from that."

However, while his confidence is growing, expectations this weekend are low. With downforce a critical factor around the twisty Hungaroring circuit, something the HRT suffers from a significant lack of, the outlook is not especially positive despite the youngster's overwhelming enthusiasm.

"This circuit is typically known for high downforce, you run a similar aero package to Monaco," he said. "I think at Nurburgring we were able to close the gap slightly to the Virgins, but they seem today to have stretched that again. I think it will be a bit more difficult to try and get a few more places up the grid, but it's probably not the strongest circuit for our team."

Having raced, and won, at the Hungaroring circuit as part of the Renault World Series, Ricciardo is at least more comfortable than he would be at a circuit that's totally new to him. With limited running in the car it's helped the 22-year-old get up to speed faster than he otherwise would have. "It helps knowing the circuit, especially when you're coming with a car you haven't driven before. This morning it took a bit of time to find my feet around here but we did better in the second session today. On the times it probably looks a bit better than what it actually is, so I don't want to get too excited about it."

Now seemingly settled in the team Ricciardo's next task will be beating teammate Tonio Liuzzi, the Italian having won the intra-team battle thus far. The Australian however, remains cautiously confident he will improve as he gains experience and allows himself to push to the limit with confidence. "There are areas I saw today which I need to improve," he conceded. "I'm aware of those and the main thing is I have confidence that I can take that corner faster, or brake later. I don't feel I'm at my limit, so that's good. I'm just trying to keep a bit in reserve as I'm still learning."